If you struggle with chronic neck or back pain, you may be wondering if spine surgery is right for you. While most neck and back pain can be treated without surgery, Redefine Healthcare has the best neuro-spine team in New Jersey to treat serious spine conditions that have not responded to conservative treatment.
When should I consider spine surgery?
It may be time to consider spine surgery if you’ve exhausted your conservative treatment options. Your treatment may have included physical therapy, steroid injections, nerve blocks, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), lifestyle changes, among others. If these conservative options have not removed or reduced your pain over several months, spine surgery might be the next step.
Surgical intervention may also be necessary in emergency situations, often following injury or trauma, like a car accident. Untreated chronic conditions can also worsen to warrant emergency treatment. These emergencies may be marked by “red flag” symptoms, such as:
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Severe pain
Numbness or loss of sensation in the lower extremities
Unexplained weight loss
Night sweats or fever
Spine surgery is often the last resort. With that being said, it can also be the best option. By correcting a problem at its root cause, there is less of a guessing game as to whether a certain treatment will work for your pain.